Robert Downey Jr., Bette Midler, and Other
Remarkable Talents to be Honored at a Special Award Ceremony Hosted
by Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger
Robert Downey Jr. and Bette Midler, along with such luminaries
as Wing Chao, Jon Favreau, James Earl Jones, Kenny Ortega, Barnette
Ricci, Robin Roberts, Diane Sawyer, Ming-Na Wen, and Hans Zimmer,
will be honored as Disney Legends during D23 Expo 2019 for their
remarkable contributions to the Disney legacy. Hosted by Disney
Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, the Disney Legends Awards ceremony will
be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, August 23, in Hall D23 of the Anaheim
Convention Center.
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Disney Legends Award (Photo: Business
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“The Disney Legends Award is the highest honor we can bestow;
it’s a recognition of talent, a celebration of achievement, and an
expression of profound gratitude to the remarkable men and women
who have made an indelible mark on our company and our creative
legacy,” said Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt
Disney Company. “This year’s honorees have earned a place in our
hearts and our history for their significant contributions in film,
television, and our theme parks around the world.”
The Disney Legends Awards program is a 32-year tradition of The
Walt Disney Company, and the first Disney Legend was Fred MacMurray
(The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, The Happiest
Millionaire), who was honored in 1987. The award ceremony is just
one of the dozens of spectacular events Disney fans can enjoy
during the three-day D23 Expo.
The 2019 Disney Legends Award honorees (listed alphabetically)
are:
WING CHAO For 37 years at Disney, Wing T. Chao played a
vital role in designing and developing exceptional and
inspirational projects, worth more than $12 billion, at Disney
parks and resorts worldwide. Wing served as vice chairman of Walt
Disney Parks and Resorts for Asia Pacific Development as well as
executive vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering, where he
oversaw master planning, architecture, and design. Wing directed
development teams consisting of Disney Imagineers and many of the
world’s most renowned architects and designers. He also developed
and built projects, including resort hotels, parks, cruise ships,
entertainment venues, water attractions, convention and exhibition
centers, sports stadiums, restaurants, retail spaces, recreational
complexes, office spaces, and two new-town communities, at The Walt
Disney Company’s properties in California, Florida, Hawai‘i, Tokyo,
Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and other locations worldwide.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. is a two-time Academy Award® nominee
and Golden Globe® winner who has appeared in more than 80 films.
Considered one of the industry’s most talented and respected
actors, Robert has embraced both dramatic and comedic roles,
including his Disney debut in the 2006 remake of The Shaggy
Dog. After numerous standout performances, Robert then went on to
help launch Marvel Studios with his celebrated performance as Tony
Stark as Iron Man. His role has spearheaded the iconic blockbuster
franchises Iron Man and Avengers, for which he’s starred in three
Iron Man films, The Incredible Hulk (2008), Captain
America: Civil War (2016), and Spider-Man:
Homecoming (2017); and four Avengers films, including the most
recent, Avengers: Endgame (2019), which shattered box
office records and became the largest-ever film debut, bringing in
$1.2 billion worldwide in its opening weekend. Robert will next
star in the title role in 2020’s The Voyage of Doctor
Dolittle and is in pre-production on the third installment of
the successful Sherlock Holmes franchise.
JON FAVREAU started his career with appearances in film
and television and has since become one of Hollywood’s most
successful producers and directors. Jon’s first roles included
appearances on TV shows such as Seinfeld and Friends, but his big
break came with the Miramax indie film Swingers (1996), for which
he wrote the screenplay, starred, and co-produced. His directing
credits include Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), the live-action
remake of The Jungle Book (2016), and this year’s reimagining of
The Lion King. Jon also made appearances in several Marvel
Cinematic Universe films as Tony Stark’s loyal bodyguard, Happy
Hogan. As an executive producer for Marvel Studios, Jon holds
credits on such films as Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Iron
Man 3 (2013), Marvel’s The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron
(2015), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). He has also voiced
characters for Disney television shows and feature films, including
Hercules (TV, 1999), Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (TV, 2000),
G-Force (2009), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (TV, 2010–13), and Solo:
A Star Wars Story (2018). Jon is writing and executive producing
the live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian for Disney+, which
will premiere this November.
JAMES EARL JONES started his acting career with
television and film roles, including appearances in As the World
Turns (1966) and Dr. Strangelove (1964). But the Oscar®, Emmy®, and
Tony® Award-winning actor is well known for his iconic voice
acting, beginning with the role of Darth Vader in Star Wars: A New
Hope (1977). This villainous vocal performance was reprised in
subsequent Star Wars films, including most recently in Rogue One: A
Star Wars Story (2016) and TV shows like Star Wars Rebels
(2014–18). His voice can also be heard in Disney Parks around the
globe, including recurring vocal performances as Darth Vader for
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. Other Disney credits include
ABC’s Recess in 1998 as the voice of Santa Claus, narrator for the
Disneynature film Earth (2009), segment host for Fantasia/2000
(2000), and as the celebrity narrator for the Candlelight Ceremony
at Disneyland. Audiences also recognize the actor’s basso profundo
as that of Mufasa in The Lion King (1994), a role James Earl would
return to in The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride (1998), The Lion Guard:
Return of the Roar (2015), and this summer’s reimagining of The
Lion King.
BETTE MIDLER When the Disney studio set out to expand the
breadth of its film production with Touchstone Pictures, it was
Emmy, Grammy®, Golden Globe, and Tony winner Bette Midler who
helped lead the way to box office success for the new division. She
appeared in a string of hit comedies, including Down and Out in
Beverly Hills (1986), Ruthless People (1986), Outrageous Fortune
(1987), and Big Business (1988). Touchstone’s 1988 drama Beaches
not only proved to be a smash with audiences, but it also included
Bette’s platinum-selling rendition of “Wind Beneath My Wings.”
Other Disney films followed, including Stella (1990) and Scenes
from a Mall (1991), as well as a memorable vocal performance as the
spoiled poodle Georgette in Oliver & Company (1988). Bette is
well known to Disney audiences for her role as the witchy Winifred
in the perennial Halloween classic Hocus Pocus (1993). She also
starred in The Lottery (1989), a short film produced for the
Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) in
Florida for guests of the park’s Backstage Studio Tour.
KENNY ORTEGA is a multi-award-winning director,
choreographer, and producer. His first work with Disney was
choreographing the TV special Disney’s Totally
Minnie (1988), followed by Mickey’s 60th
Birthday the same year, and he would go on to direct three
episodes of Touchstone Television’s Hull High in 1990. In
1992, Kenny directed his first feature film, the beloved Disney
musical Newsies, which was followed, in 1993, by the Halloween
favorite Hocus Pocus. In 2006, he helmed the Disney Channel
smash hit High School Musical, and the success of the first
film would bring him back to direct—and choreograph—the
sequels High School Musical 2 (2007) and High School
Musical 3: Senior Year (2008). Kenny also produced and staged
the High School Musical: The Concert tour, as well as the
Miley Cyrus and Jonas Brothers Best of Both Worlds
Tour. His other Disney credits include directing the 2014
short The Making of Frozen, The Cheetah Girls
2 (2006), and, most recently, the international
phenomenon Descendants (2015), Descendants
2 (2017), and Descendants 3, which will be released this
summer.
BARNETTE RICCI started her career with The Walt Disney
Company as a choreographer at Disneyland. In the late 1960s,
Barnette created and directed Kids of the Kingdom before going on
to choreograph and direct many parades, including Christmas
parades, America on Parade, and the Main Street Electrical Parade.
She worked on the grand openings of Walt Disney World, EPCOT
Center, and Tokyo Disneyland and directed popular stage shows such
as Golden Horseshoe Revue at Disneyland and the Diamond Horseshoe
Revue in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. Perhaps her
biggest project to date is the creation of Fantasmic! Debuting at
Disneyland in 1992, the production combines state-of-the-art
special effects with live performers along the Rivers of America.
The show continues a successful run at Disneyland, Disney’s
Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, and now Tokyo DisneySea.
Following Fantasmic!, Barnette moved to The Walt Disney Studios as
the vice president/show director of Special Events. After more than
40 years with The Walt Disney Company, Barnette retired in
2013.
ROBIN ROBERTS In 1990, Robin joined ESPN and would
quickly become a frequent contributor to the network’s programming.
In her 15 years at ESPN, she contributed to NFL Primetime and
hosted SportsCenter and In the Game with Robin Roberts. Robin began
making appearances on ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA) in 1995, and
in 2005 left ESPN to join the show full-time as co-anchor. Since
joining GMA, the show has won four Emmys for Outstanding Morning
Program. For ABC, Robin has hosted In the Spotlight with Robin
Roberts: All Access Nashville, as well as ABC’s red carpet coverage
of the Academy Awards, and has created original broadcast and
digital programming for the network through her production company,
Rock’n Robin Productions. In 2007, Hyperion publishing released
Robin’s first book, From the Heart: Seven Rules to Live By. Among
Robin’s many awards are the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in
Journalism, membership in the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of
Fame, and being named one of Glamour's Women of the Year.
DIANE SAWYER is an ABC News anchor, tackling some of the
biggest issues of our time with original reporting, primetime
specials, long-form interviews, and in-depth investigations. One of
the most respected journalists in the world, she has traveled the
globe delivering breaking news reports, and has conducted
interviews with almost every major newsmaker of our time. Her
primetime documentaries have won critical acclaim for shedding
light on difficult and previously under-reported topics, including
her reporting on the realities of poverty in America. Diane’s
reporting has been recognized with numerous awards, including
duPonts; Emmys; Peabodys; the grand prize of the premier
Investigative Reporters and Editors Association; an IRTS Lifetime
Achievement Award; and the USC Distinguished Achievement in
Journalism Award. In 1997 she was inducted into the Television
Academy Hall of Fame. After more than a decade in television news,
Sawyer joined ABC News in February 1989 as co-anchor of Primetime.
She was named co-anchor of Good Morning America in January 1999,
and held the post until taking over the World News anchor chair in
December 2009.
MING-NA WEN can currently be found saving the day as
Agent Melinda May, aka “The Cavalry,” on the ABC
series Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ming-Na is also
known for her seven years playing Jing-Mei Chen on ER. She found
success on the big screen when she appeared in the acclaimed
Hollywood Pictures adaptation of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club.
Five years later, she would find animation immortality as the title
star of the Disney classic Mulan, a role for which she would
receive an Annie Award. Ming-Na returned to the role of heroic Fa
Mulan in a slew of projects, including an animated sequel, video
games Kingdom Hearts II and Disney Infinity, on
television’s House of Mouse and Sofia the First, and
in the Walt Disney Animation Studios film Ralph Breaks
the Internet (2018). Ming-Na has been well known to
audiences for her television projects, including her voice work in
Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb, Disney XD’s Guardians
of the Galaxy and Milo Murphy’s Law, the six-part digital
short Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors, and a recurring
role in ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat.
HANS ZIMMER has scored more than 160 projects which,
combined, have grossed more than $28 billion worldwide. Hans has
been honored with an Academy Award®, two Golden Globes, three
Grammys, an American Music Award, and a Tony Award. In addition to
his long list of credits, including notable projects such
as Gladiator and The Dark Knight trilogy, Hans
has had a great history with The Walt Disney Company. His early
work for them includes additional music for White
Fang (1991) and co-writing music for Cool
Runnings (1993). His groundbreaking, Academy Award-winning
instrumental score for The Lion King (1994) was followed
by many memorable projects, including Crimson
Tide (1995), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), The
Rock (1996), Pearl Harbor (2001), King
Arthur (2004), and Iron Man (2008). Hans is the
guiding force behind the music of the Pirates of the
Caribbean franchise, serving in various composing, editing,
and producing capacities for The Curse of the Black
Pearl (2003), Dead Man’s Chest (2006), At
World’s End (2007), and On Stranger Tides (2011).
Hans composed the music for this summer’s reimagining of The
Lion King.
Honorees receive a two-foot-tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture
that signifies the imagination, creativity, and magic they have
brought to the Company. Disney Legends Award recipients will also
participate in a handprint ceremony at the end of the event, and
their bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza
at the Company’s Burbank headquarters.
Admission to the ceremony will be on a first-come, first-served
basis and is included in the price of a ticket to D23 Expo
2019.
Including this year’s honorees, a total of 289 Disney Legends
have been named. Past Disney Legends include Tim Allen, Julie
Andrews, Beatrice Arthur, Howard Ashman, Annette Funicello, Whoopi
Goldberg, Peter Jennings, Sir Elton John, Angela Lansbury, George
Lucas, Steve Martin, Alan Menken, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker, Regis
Philbin, Marty Sklar, Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Walters, Betty White,
and Robin Williams. Beginning with the inaugural D23 Expo in 2009,
thousands of Disney fans have been able to enjoy the Disney Legends
Awards ceremony live.
Tickets for D23 Expo 2019 are available for $89 for one-day
adult admission and $69 for children 3–9. Gold Members of D23: The
Official Disney Fan Club can purchase tickets for $77 for a one-day
adult admission and $59 for children 3–9. For more information on
tickets and D23 Expo 2019, visit D23Expo.com.
About D23 Expo 2019
D23 Expo—The Ultimate Disney Fan Event—brings together all the
worlds of Disney under one roof for three packed days of
presentations, pavilions, experiences, concerts, sneak peeks,
shopping, and more. The event provides fans with unprecedented
access to Disney films, television, games, theme parks, and
celebrities. For the latest D23 Expo 2019 news, visit D23expo.com.
Presentations, talent, and schedule subject to change. To join the
D23 Expo conversation, be sure to follow DisneyD23 on Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and use the hashtag #D23Expo.
About D23
The name “D23” pays homage to the exciting journey that began in
1923 when Walt Disney opened his first studio in
Hollywood. D23 is the first official club for fans in Disney’s
90-plus-year history. It gives its members a greater
connection to the entire world of Disney by placing them in the
middle of the magic through its quarterly publication, Disney
twenty-three; a rich website at D23.com with members-only content;
member-exclusive discounts; and special events for D23 Members
throughout the year.
Fans can join D23 at Gold Membership ($99.99), Gold Family
Membership ($129.99), and General Membership (complimentary) levels
at D23.com. To keep up with all the latest D23 news and events,
follow DisneyD23 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
NOT FOR PRINT: For images, press releases, and the
official media credential application, please visit
D23ExpoPress.com.
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Jeffrey EpsteinThe Walt Disney Company(818)
560-8125Jeffrey.R.Epstein@Disney.com
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